No. 8 Alabama opened the 2025 season in disappointing fashion on Saturday with an ugly 31-17 loss to Florida State. The Crimson Tide saw their 23-game win streak in season openers — the second-longest active streak in the FBS — snapped and lost in the regular season against a nonconference opponent for just the second time (63-2) since 2008.
“We had some opportunities to get back in the game there,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said after the loss. “The name of the game is we can’t be hesitant early on. We have to be faster.”
In the loss, Alabama was gashed by FSU for 230 yards on the ground, including 78 and a touchdown from transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos. Offensively, the Tide had seven drives that ended in FSU territory but could only come away with 17 points.
Under legendary coach Nick Saban, Alabama went 119-1 against unranked teams from 2008-23. Since DeBoer took over the program last year, the Crimson Tide are just 6-4 against unranked opponents. The Crimson Tide closed as 13.5-point favorites against a Florida State team that went 2-10 last season.
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Alabama went 9-4 and missed the College Football Playoff in DeBoer’s first season with the program after leaving his post at Washington. The Crimson Tide were in contention to earn an at-large berth to the CFP late in the season before losing to Oklahoma on the road as a double-digit favorite.
Here is everything DeBoer said after the shocking loss to Florida State on the road.
Opening statement
“We had some opportunities to get back in the game there. The name of the game is we can’t be hesitant early on. We have to start faster in all ways. Yes, I know we went down and scored the first drive, pieced plays together and found a way to put it in the end zone. But just the next couple series, both sides of the ball, we got to do a better job. We got to do a better job.
“We had opportunities there in the second half, but we gave them life. We gave them hope and confidence in the first half there. And then what it does is it puts you in a spot where you got to be perfect. You know, you’re playing from behind, and you got to be perfect. And, you know, the stress on the guys to make every play becomes greater and greater.
“I choose to believe we got a good football team, but, you know, we can’t play on our heels. We’re not going to be what we think we can be, what we want to be, if that’s the case. And so, again, that falls on everyone. I don’t just put the point the finger at the players. Both sides the ball, you kind of know what you’re going to see going into the game with new coordinators. But we got to, you know, we talked in the locker room, there is no excuse about what happened. We stepped on the football field. They stepped on the football field. We got to play ball. We got to play our style of ball.
“Last year isn’t this year. It’s going to be an uphill climb for us, but you can’t think of it in the big scope of things. You got to focus on the moment and the next moment is what happens tomorrow. We will find out. We’ve talked all along about chemistry on this team and how close we are and how hard we worked and doing a lot of the right things. We’ll find out if that sticks.
“He got a concussion. He got a concussion.”
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On Alabama’s run defense
“You knew going in with the quarterback runs it was going to be a challenge. I thought [Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos] did a nice job in the first half keeping some drives alive — even on passing downs, ones that weren’t called runs. And they did a nice job going sideline to sideline, a lot of things with those fly sweeps that we worked on and prepared for. Guys get 1-on-1, you get in space and you got to find a way to get them on the ground. You have to use your leverage and you got to find ways to trust your buddies around you that they’re in pursuit. And they were piecing together first downs. They kept on the field, and they hit the explosive down the sideline in the first drive.
“They’re going to make plays, too. I can live with that, but we’ve got to respond. Just coming out in the second half, thought we settled in other than the one play. And it really felt third quarter and going into the fourth quarter defensively we kind of got our feet underneath of us. Had kind of an idea what they’re really trying to do, the rhythm of what they do offensively, and how we call plays.
“They do some funky things with the snap count and all that kind of stuff. And it kind of keeps our guys kind of wondering what’s next, and not in our own rhythm. I think we got through that after the first half. But then, you know, we give them the run, we give them the play, and we kind of let them out with the with the penalty at the end — the late hit. We can’t live in the gray area. We’ve talked about that all season long. We can’t live in the gray area. It isn’t just about that play. It’s other things that we got to do, but that certainly adds to it.”
On Alabama’s inability to finish drives
“That’s the thing that is frustrating. And so, you win the game and you look at those drives and you’re saying, ‘Hey, there’s first downs that you’re piecing together. You’re giving yourself chances.’ But when you lose the game, you look at it and you gotta understand that there’s got to be a competitive stamina.
“[The opening scoring drive] was a long drive, and it was hard work. You had to execute. You had to make some big plays. And you did it. Now you got to go back out there and do it again. You got to stack play after play after play. We’d have a negative play or a missed opportunity. There were some opportunities out there that we either did give ourselves a chance to make or just missed. Not gonna live in regret, not gonna live in regret. We gotta go fix it and be better because of it, and evaluate the film and move on.”
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On Ty Simpson’s first start at quarterback
“He has to trust his reads and cut it loose sometimes. Just let it fly. He can make the throws. Let it fly. Throw on rhythm, throw on time. There might have been a time or two where they got in his face a little quick. That’s going to happen. That’s football. But just let it fly.
“And just some decision-making there in certain critical moments. That’s the things he’s going to learn from. He’s given everything he has. I know he’s in the locker room wanting and wishing that there was some things he would have done different. But there are other guys, too. We got to catch the ball for him once in a while. It’s a full team sport. It’s a whole offensive unit that has the move the ball up and down the field. Everyone has to do their part to help the guy out.”
On how Alabama’s run game changed after first drive
“I feel like they were very similar to some of the ones that we had in the fourth quarter as far as like the holes and the seams and getting through the first level. I think they were hard yards in the first quarter that we did have. We were able to stay ahead of the chains and continue to do that. You’re trying to be patient, but those possessions are counting down on you. But again, I thought we did a good job staying committed to it as we went into the fourth quarter. There needs to be a better consistency. We didn’t have any explosives that we need to have. It’s hard to put drives together when you don’t have chunk yardage plays. They hit their explosives at times. We had some explosives, but most of them were in the air.”
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